United Nations reports food shortages are likely

Friday

Jan 11, 2013 at 6:28 PM

2012 was a record year for U.S. heat. The world will likely face severe food shortages this year.

Michael Gerstein

As debates about gun control continue to rage in response to the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, a new United Nations report warns that 2013 could be a year of worldwide food shortages as a result of widespread droughts.

Southern Michigan was no exception to the rule.

Heat waves and lack of precipitation caused a 40 to 60 percent crop yield drop in Lenawee county last summer—just two hours from Sturgis—according to a Daily Telegram report in the Sturgis Journal.

That's a trend that may continue due to rising temperatures worldwide.

The Guardian reports: “Failing harvests in the US, Ukraine and other countries this year have eroded reserves to their lowest level since 1974.

"The US, which has experienced record heatwaves and droughts in 2012, now holds in reserve a historically low 6.5% of the maize that it expects to consume in the next year, says the UN."

2012 was the hottest year ever recorded; at least in the U.S.

And as the mercury inside of our thermostats climbed, our soil dried and cracked.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that natural changes in weather patterns could have played a role, but the sweltering heat wave would not have been possible if not for human influenced climate change.